Electronic drawing toy

ABSTRACT

An electronic drawing toy is disclosed for drawing and gaming applications used with a video monitor, wherein a complexity of the toy is minimized to facilitate use by young children.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application60/647,039, filed Jan. 26, 2005.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an electronic device and more particularly toan electronic drawing toy for drawing and gaming applications for usewith a video monitor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional electronic toys are typically not appropriate for youngchildren. Often, many different switches, buttons, knobs, and joystickshave been utilized to provide a user interface for controlling gameactions. Thus, the use of the toy is overly complex and difficult foryoung children.

Games or activities may require a large number of actions alone or incombinations, and the user may manipulate a number of types of inputdevices to achieve the actions. Some control actions may requiresimultaneous manipulation of separate input devices using multiplefingers or both hands of the user. Because of the variety of potentialhand and finger motions and the large number of combinations of inputdevice actuations, it may be difficult for the user to remember orcorrectly utilize them all. An older user has the dexterity and eye-handcoordination necessary to manipulate and control such complex devices.It is typically difficult for young children to operate these complexdevices.

However, young children do possess the intellect and ability necessaryfor meaningful interaction. The limitations that young children face inrespect of these electronic toys are not inherent, but rather imposed bythe presently available devices.

It would be desirable to produce an electronic toy wherein a complexityof the toy is minimized to facilitate use by young children. It would befurther desirable to achieve the foregoing in a device that is easy tohold and manipulate and where a cost of producing the device isminimized.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Concordant and congruous with the present invention, an electronic toywherein a complexity of the toy is minimized to facilitate use by youngchildren, has surprisingly been discovered.

In one embodiment, the electronic drawing toy comprises a main bodyadapted to be connected to a video monitor; a processor disposed in saidmain body for generating video signals, audio signals, and applicationdata to produce an image on the monitor; a first input device disposedon said main body for controlling movement of a cursor on the videomonitor; and a second input device disposed on said main body andpositionable in a first position and a second position.

In another embodiment, the electronic drawing toy comprises a main bodyadapted to be connected to a video monitor; a processor disposed in saidmain body for generating video signals, audio signals, and applicationdata to produce an image on the monitor;a first input device disposed onsaid main body for controlling movement of a cursor on the videomonitor; a second input device disposed on said main body andpositionable in a first position and a second position; and a switchdisposed in said main body for causing the image on the monitor to beerased upon inverting and shaking of the toy by a user.

In yet another embodiment, the electronic toy comprises a main bodyadapted to be connected to a video monitor; a processor disposed in saidmain body for generating video signals, audio signals, and applicationdata to produce an image on the monitor; a first input device disposedon said main body for controlling movement of a cursor on the videomonitor, wherein said first input device comprising a four-way operatorpositioned over a switch pad; a second input device disposed on saidmain body and positionable in a first position and a second position,wherein said second input device comprising a two-position switch pad;and a switch disposed in said main body for causing the image on themonitor to be erased upon shaking of the toy by a user.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above, as well as other advantages of the present invention, willbecome readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the followingdetailed description of a preferred embodiment when considered in thelight of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electronic toy according toan embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the electronic toy illustrated in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the electronic toy illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing showing audio and video electroniccomponents of the electronic toy illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 a is a schematic drawing of a power switch component of theelectronic toy illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 b is a schematic drawing of a switch pad component of theelectronic toy illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 c is a schematic drawing of a ball switch of the electronic toyillustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 d is a perspective view of the ball switch of the electronic toyillustrated in FIG. 5 c;

FIG. 6 is a schematic drawing showing a main processor of the electronictoy illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a schematic drawing showing memory components of theelectronic toy illustrated FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 a is a first page of a quick start guide showing various playmodes for the electronic toy illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 b is a page of a second page of a quick start guide showingvarious play modes for the electronic toy illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a main game screen of the electronic toy illustrated FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 a is a menu screen for an Connect the Dots Menu of theelectronic toy illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 b is a menu screen for an Objects and Backgrounds Menu of theelectronic toy illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 c is a menu screen for a Trace a Picture Menu of the electronictoy illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 d is a menu screen for a Free Draw Menu of the electronic toyillustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is an illustration of cursor movement for the Objects andBackgrounds mode illustrated in FIG. 10 b of the electronic toyillustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is an illustration of operation of an option from the Objectsand Backgrounds mode of the electronic toy illustrated in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 13 is an illustration of operation of the trace function from theTrace a Picture mode during the drawing phase of the electronic toyillustrated in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following detailed description and appended drawings describe andillustrate various exemplary embodiments of the invention. Thedescription and drawings serve to enable one skilled in the art to makeand use the invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of theinvention in any manner. It is understood that materials other thanthose described can be used without departing from the scope and spiritof the invention. Commonly owned U.S. patent Ser. No. 11/055,393 ishereby incorporated herein by reference for the purpose of showing anddescribing operation of a drawing and gaming device.

FIGS. 1-3 show an electronic drawing toy 10 according to an embodimentof the invention. The toy 10 includes a main body 12 having a front mainbody portion 14 and a rear main body portion 16. Disposed in the mainbody 12 of the toy 10 are a first input device 15 for controllingmovement of a cursor (not shown) and a second input device 17positionable in a first and a second position. The cursor may be acrosshair, arrow, or other cursor configuration, as desired.Furthermore, disposed within the main body is a printed circuit board orPCB 28. Disposed on the PCB 28 is a main processor 34 as well as otherelectronic components schematically shown in FIGS. 4-7.

The rear portion 16 of the toy 10 has a removable battery cover 38. Thebattery cover 38 covers and protects batteries (not shown) which providea source of electricity for the toy 10. It is understood that anyconventional source of electricity can be used as desired.

In the embodiment shown, the front portion 14 and rear portion 16 of themain body 12 are produced from plastic.

However, it is understood that other conventional materials can be usedas desired. Additionally, the front portion 14 and the rear portion 16are shown as connected by threaded fasteners. However, other joiningmethods can be used such as gluing, press fitting, and otherconventional methods, as desired.

The first input device 15 provides directional control of the cursor orgame object (as shown in FIG. 11) and includes a four-way switch pad 18which is in communication with contact areas included in the mainprocessor 34 of the toy 10 as illustrated in FIG. 1. The first inputdevice 15 includes a four-way operator 20 that overlays the switch pad18. A first cap 22 is disposed on the four-way operator 20 and switchpad 18. The first cap 22 is adapted to extend through a first aperture23 formed in the front portion 14 of the main body 12 for manipulationby the user. FIG. 5 b shows a schematic drawing of the first inputdevice 15.

The second input device 17 provides a selection feature and a drawfeature. The second input device 17 includes a two-position switch pad24 which is in communication with contact areas included in theelectronic components of the toy 10 as illustrated in FIG. 1. A secondcap 26 is disposed on the switch pad 24. The second cap 26 is adapted toextend through a second aperture 27 formed in the front portion 14 ofthe main body 12 for manipulation by the user.

Numerous electronic components as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4-7 aredisposed on the PCB 28 that is disposed in the main body 12 of the toy10. The electronic components include an audio component 29 and a videocomponent 31 shown in FIG. 4; a power switch 30 shown in FIG. 5 a, thefirst input device 15 switch pad 18, the second input device 17two-position switch pad 24 shown in FIG. 5 b, and a ball switch 32 shownin FIGS. 5 c and 5 d; a main processor 34 as illustrated in FIG. 6; andmemory components 36 illustrated in FIG. 7.

It is understood that the electronic components can be disposed onadditional PCB's disposed within the main body 12, such as the firstinput device 15 components and second input device 17 components, forexample.

In the embodiment shown, the main processor 34 is an EMG0802manufactured by ELAN Microelectronics Corporation.

The main processor 34, alone or in combination with the other electroniccomponents listed above, performs many of the toy 10 functions such asprocessing video signals, audio signals, and application data to producean image on a monitor 40 (shown schematically in FIG. 2), providingmemory for storing games, and the like. It is understood that other mainprocessors can be used as desired.

In operation, the toy 10 is connected to the video monitor 40. The toy10 can be connected to the monitor 40 by any conventional method such ascomposite video connectors, an S-video connection, or component videoconnectors, for example. When the power switch 30 is placed in the onposition, a game screen 41 illustrated in FIG. 9 is displayed on themonitor 40.

As shown in FIGS. 10 a, 10 b, 10 c, and 10 d, an activity or game isselected from the menu 42 represented by a plurality of first icons 43at the left side of main screen. It is understood that the menu 42 canbe positioned elsewhere on the main screen 41 as desired. To select anactivity, the first input device 15 is used to position a cursor (notshown) over an icon 43 representing the desired activity to highlightthe activity icon 43. The second input device 17 is then pressed toselect the desired activity icon 43. In the embodiment shown, theactivities include Objects and Backgrounds, Connect the Dots, Trace aPicture, and Free Draw. It is understood that other activities can beadded as desired.

As shown in FIGS. 10 a, 10 b, 10 c, and 10 d, once the activity isselected a submenu 44 is caused to appear. A sub-activity may then beselected from the respective submenu 44 using the method described abovefor selection of the activity.

As illustrated in FIG. 10 a, selection of the Objects and Backgroundsactivity generates a submenu 44 and second plurality of icons 45 thatallows the user to select a game object 46 (also illustrated in FIGS. 11and 12) from the group of a snow shovel, a lawn mower, an airplane, asand tool, a ice scraper, a piece of chalk, and a leaf blower.

It is understood that other game objects can be used as desired. Aparticular screen is then generated to permit the user to draw with theselected game object 46. The cursor then takes the shape of game object46 selected. For example, in FIG. 12, the user manipulates the gameobject 46, a snow scraper 48, to draw on the screen, an iced surface 50,on the monitor 40. As the ice scraper 48 is caused to move on themonitor 40 ice scraper 48 draws on the iced surface 50. Where the icescraper 48 has used to draw, the iced surface 50 appears to be scrapedaway, while the area not drawn on appears to remain an iced surface 50.

As illustrated in FIG. 10 b, selection of the Connect the Dots activitygenerates a submenu 44 that allows the user to select an image composedof an array of numbered dots to be connected sequentially to form theimage from the group of a dinosaur, a cool cat, a fish, a farmer, and atrain. It is understood that other images can be used as desired.

As illustrated in FIG. 10 c, selection of the Trace a Picture activitygenerates a submenu 44 that allows the user to select an image to tracefrom the group of a horse, a castle, a race car, and a ship. Forexample, in FIG. 13, the user manipulates the cursor to trace over theimage, a horse, in attempt to accurately trace over the existing linesof the image to duplicate it. It is understood that other images can beprovided to be traced as desired.

As illustrated in FIG. 10 d, selection of the Free Draw activity doesnot generate a submenu. The Free Draw activity allows the user to drawany desired image on a blank screen.

It is understood that other sub-activities and images can be added tothe submenus 44 as desired.

Once an activity, and sub-activity if necessary, is selected, the usercan proceed to performing the selected activity. For example, in FIG.12, the user manipulates the snow scraper 48 to draw on the iced surface50 on the monitor 40. The first input device 15 is used to position theice scraper 48 as desired. The second input device 17 is then pressed toenter the drawing mode. Then, as the ice scraper 48 is caused to move onthe monitor 40, the ice scraper 48 is caused to draw on the iced surface50. To stop drawing, the user simply releases the second input device17. The user can then reposition the ice scraper 48 as desired, andbegin drawing again by pressing the second input device 17. The user cannavigate from one activity to another using the menu 42 and the submenus44 as previously described. As illustrated in FIGS. 8 a and 8 b, anexemplary “Quick Start Guide” including sample screen shots anddirections of the activities.

To completely erase an image produced on the video monitor 40, the usershakes the toy 10 in a back and forth motion to activate the ball switch32. When activated, the ball switch causes images displayed on themonitor 40 to be erased. In the embodiment shown, this is accomplishedin the programming for the toy 10. The user can position the toy 10 asdesired, such as inverting the toy 10, for example, prior to and duringshaking. The lone act of shaking the toy 10 back and forth to activatethe ball switch 32 can erase the image on the video monitor 40. However,alternative programming for the toy 10 may require the toy 10 to beinverted prior to shaking back and forth before the ball switch 32 isactivated to erase the image on the video monitor. The additional act ofinverting the toy 10 is a tribute to the traditional method of erasingan image from the screen of an Etch-a-Sketch drawing toy.

From the foregoing description, one ordinarily skilled in the art caneasily ascertain the essential characteristics of this invention and,without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, can make variouschanges and modifications to the invention to adapt it to various usagesand conditions.

1. An electronic drawing toy comprising: a main body adapted to beconnected to a video monitor; a processor disposed in said main body forgenerating video signals, audio signals, and application data to producean image on the monitor; a first input device disposed on said main bodyfor controlling movement of a cursor on the video monitor; and a secondinput device disposed on said main body and positionable in a firstposition and a second position.
 2. The toy according to claim 1, furthercomprising means disposed in said main body for causing the image on themonitor to be erased upon shaking of the toy by a user.
 3. The toyaccording to claim 1, further comprising means disposed in said mainbody for causing the image on the monitor to be erased upon invertingand shaking of the toy by a user.
 4. The toy according to claim 3,wherein said means for causing the image on the monitor to be erasedupon shaking of the toy by the user is a switch.
 5. The toy according toclaim 4, wherein the switch is a ball switch.
 6. The toy of claim 1,wherein said first input device is a four-way operater positioned over aswitch pad.
 7. The toy of claim 1, wherein said second input device is atwo-position switch pad.
 8. The toy in claim 1, wherein said processorgenerates the video signal, the video signal causing a menu area and anactive window to be displayed on the monitor.
 9. The toy in claim 7,wherein the menu area includes a first plurality of icons generallyaligned on the video display for accessing respective imaging functionsto be carried out in an active window.
 10. The toy in claim 9, whereinthe imaging functions comprise at least one of an Objects andBackgrounds mode, a Connect the Dots mode, a Trace a Picture mode, and aFree Draw mode.
 11. The toy in claim 10, wherein the cursor is acrosshair for the at least one of the Connect the Dots, the Trace aPicture, and the Free Draw modes and the cursor becomes a game object asselected by the user from the Objects and Backgrounds submenu area forthe Objects and Backgrounds mode.
 12. The toy in claim 11, wherein thegame object is one of a snow shovel, a lawn mower, an airplane, a sandtool, a ice scraper, a piece of chalk, or a leaf blower.
 13. The toy inclaim 12, wherein said first input device is utilized to maneuver thecursor over one of a plurality of icons and said second input device ismanipulated to select one of the plurality of icons.
 14. The toy inclaim 13, wherein when the cursor is positioned over one of theplurality of icons on the menu area, one of the plurality of icons ishighlighted.
 15. The toy in claim 14, wherein selection of one of theplurality of icons in the menu area generates a submenu area having asecond plurality of icons.
 16. The toy in claim 15, wherein said firstinput device is utilized to maneuver the cursor over a desired icon fromthe second plurality of icons and the second input device is manipulatedto select the desired icon.
 17. The toy in claim 1, wherein said firstinput device and said second input device are positioned formanipulation by a corresponding thumb of the user.
 18. An electronicdrawing toy comprising: a main body adapted to be connected to a videomonitor; a processor disposed in said main body for generating videosignals, audio signals, and application data to produce an image on themonitor; a first input device disposed on said main body for controllingmovement of a cursor on the video monitor; a second input devicedisposed on said main body and positionable in a first position and asecond position; and a switch disposed in said main body for causing theimage on the monitor to be erased upon inverting and shaking of the toyby a user.
 19. The toy of claim 18, wherein said first input device is afour-way operater positioned over a switch pad and said second inputdevice is a two-position switch pad.
 20. An electronic toy comprising: amain body adapted to be connected to a video monitor; a processordisposed in said main body for generating video signals, audio signals,and application data to produce an image on the monitor; a first inputdevice disposed on said main body for controlling movement of a cursoron the video monitor, wherein said first input device comprising afour-way operator positioned over a switch pad; a second input devicedisposed on said main body and positionable in a first position and asecond position, wherein said second input device comprising atwo-position switch pad; and a switch disposed in said main body forcausing the image on the monitor to be erased upon shaking of the toy bya user.